A 30-year-old miner known as Nathan Turner is the youngest Australian to die from coronavirus.
It was only discovered that he was suffering from the virus after he was discovered dead at his home.
This is the first care recorded in Blackwater, 190km west of Rockhampton, and Queensland Health is trying to figure out how Turner was infected.
Turner had not worked since November and hadn’t left Blackwater since February.
An unidentified nurse from Rockhampton tested positive for the virus earlier this month after she broke government enforced lockdown to travel to the town.
She reportedly told contact tracers that she had visited Blackwater to “see a sunset”, but Queensland health have suggested the two have not had contact.
“The [nurse] travelled to Blackwater in the second week of May but did not interact with other individuals there,” the spokesperson said.
“Information provided to Queensland Health about the case identified today indicated the man had respiratory symptoms since the first week of May.
“At this time, no evidence has been provided to Queensland Health that links the two cases, but we will continue to assess all information relevant to any case.”
State Health Minister Stephen Miles said Blackwater residents weren’t told of the nurse’s visit because it was deemed low risk.
“To my knowledge, she drove there, watched the sunset, and drove back – didn’t leave her car,” he told ABC radio on Thursday.
He said authorities are now looking into whether there is a link between the cases.
“It’s possible that there is some kind of connection there, or it could just be a coincidence,” he said.
“That’s what our investigators are working on. Those dates don’t really line up with when he got sick. It is a bit of a mystery and it could just be a coincidence.”
However, Deputy CMO Paul Kelly said that it was worrying that someone from a remote area had fallen ill.
“It shows that there is community transmission of some sort,” he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
“We haven’t had many people in rural areas in any state and so at this point in the pandemic it is a concern.
“I understand that he had been sick for some weeks and I guess he hadn’t assumed that it was COVID-19. It is another very strong reminder to all of us at this point that if anyone has any symptoms that are of a respiratory virus.
“It might feel like a cold, it could be COVID and we really want to get that test done.”
Photo credits: ABC
